M is really sick today…poor thing. We woke up at six to hear the fire alarm in our building going off, and ended up standing outside until about half past, waiting for the fire department to check it out. Turns out, there was no fire. Go figure.

I want to tell you all about how much I love and crave spicy, though. It’s so delicious! Especially chipotle…I have a special place in my heart for chipotle anything, most certainly anything chipotle with a creamy texture. So, last night as I was lying in bed, craving spicy, I asked myself, why don’t I just make myself a healthy, spicy, delicious breakfast?

So, I mentally checked off things in our fridge that would be delicious spicy: egg, broccoli, onion, garlic, and cheddar. “Hold up…cheddar? How can that be healthy?” Everything in moderation, pheasants. This most certainly won’t be drowned in cheese.

And wow, pheasants, it turned out well. The cheddar was just pungent enough to lend the chipotle and broccoli some well-needed flavors, as well as offsetting the bite of onion and garlic. The broccoli cooked up nice and soft, but not too soft, with a great crunchy, spicy flavor. I served mine with a piece of Dave’s Good Seed bread and a cup of fat-free milk to make it a meal. It was most definitely a lovely start to a rainy day.

You can easily use pre-shredded cheddar, but we had a block of it, so I cut mine into tiny chunks. If you don’t have a blender or don’t want to bother, just chop everything very finely.

Spicy Broccoli and Shirred Eggs

1 egg

approx. 2/3 c broccoli

1/2 chipotle chili pepper (use less if you’re not a fan of spicy)

1/4 tsp adobo sauce (comes with the peppers)

2/3 ounce of cheddar

black pepper and cayenne to taste

1/2 tsp heavy cream (optional)

Preheat your oven to 350°F (191°C.) In a small, 6-8 ounce ramekin, spray Pam, or very lightly butter. Coat the inside with a dusting of finely-ground cornmeal.

Place the broccoli, chipotle, half the cheddar, and adobo into a small hand blender (I used a Magic Bullet.) Pulse until it’s at your desired consistency. I kept mine chunky, but if you blend it until it’s smooth like guacamole, I can imagine it would be good, too.

Spoon the broccoli mixture into the ramekin, filling it about 3/5 up, or more. Crack the egg on top, and place into the oven for 8-10 minutes. When the time is up, take out the ramekin, and pour the cream over the top of the egg, sprinkling on the last bits of cheddar. Replace in the oven and bake for another 10 minutes, or until the white has cooked through. Enjoy!